Community Support

We here at AOMS are committed to our community and our world. From outreach in our Rogue Valley home to service overseas, we strive to support those who are in need. We have contributed not only in the dental realm through time, services and equipment; we have also provided aid to local traditions and worldwide disaster situations.

Proud Sponsor

Rogue Valley Youth Football(PWFA):Many youth football teams struggle to get sponsors, meaning that they end up without sponsorship and have to ask to children to pay more to play. But, here in the Rogue Valley some of these children do not get that opportunity. But, with the sponsorship from Associates for Oral & Maxillofacial surgery, it makes it more affordable to play.

North Valley Girls Soccer Team: North Valley offers excellent youth soccer programs. We emphasize the four components of the game (technique, tactics, physical, and psychological) as recommended by US Youth Soccer… and having fun!

Hearts with a Mission Benefit

Hearts With A Mission: Hearts With a Missionserves homeless and at-risk youth by providing shelter, educational support, mentoring and transition planning with a faith-based approach. To find out more on how to help the Rogue Valley youth: http://heartswithamission.org/

Awareness

Health Fair: We make it our duty to educate our community about dental health and dental surgery options to increase well being. From wisdom teeth extractions to orthognathic surgery to dental implants, we present resources to the public at local health fairs like the Rogue Valley Health Fair (www.roguevalleyhealthfair.org) and the Wellness Fair at the Rogue Valley Manor

Relay for Life: AOMS has been involved with the Relay for Life of Medford/Jackson County for three years. We support Relay for Life through donations and participation in honor of our patients, staff members and family members who have been affected by cancer. For more information, please visit www.acsevents.org.

NW Run/Walk for Epilepsy: In June 2013, the AOMS team participated in the Northwest Run/Walk for Epilepsy. In November 2012, one of our surgery assistants/implant coordinators, Mel, lost her significant other, Zach, to epilepsy. For more information, please visit www.nwrunwalk.org.

Missions

Abroad: Both Dr. Savage and Dr. Rajagopal have taken their oral surgery skill around the world to help those who need it most. Dr. Savage traveled to Haiti in 2003, El Salvador in 2013, Nicaragua in 2014, and Guatemala in 2015. One of our Surgery Assistants/Implant Coordinators, Mel, served in El Salvador along with Dr. Savage’s daughter, Anna. Two other Surgery Assistant/Implant Coordinators, Billie and Stephanie, also served in Guatemala with Dr. Savage and two of his children, Anna and Nathaniel. Dr. Rajagopal journeyed to Costa Rica for a mission in 2003.

El Salvador, 2013

Guatemala, 2015

MOM:The Oregon Mission of Mercy (MOM) provides free dental care to those in our state who may not otherwise receive treatment. AOMS has been involved with the event for the past three years. Both Dr. Savage and Dr. Rajagopal, along with numerous other AOMS staff members, make it a priority to volunteer every year. In 2012, the MOM came to our neck of the woods, serving over 1,200 patients with nearly $750,000 worth of dental treatment. For more information, please visit www.oregondental.org

Sponsoring

We here at AOMS love where we live. That is why we sponsor many of the events and establishments that make our community a wonderful place to be. A few of these include: the Craterian Theatre at the Collier Center for Performing Arts (www.craterian.org), the Providence Festival of Trees (http://oregon.providence.org) and the Britt Festival (www.brittfest.org).

Community Service

Adopt-a-Highway: Look, Honey… Is that a bunch of convicts cleaning up the streets for required community service? Why are there little kids helping too? It isn’t criminals you see; it is AOMS staff members, along with their families, keeping our community clean. Look for us in the ditches of Central Point.

Humanitarian Efforts

The Associates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery have helped victims of several disasters over the years. Events such as September 11th 2001, The Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2005, Hurricane Katrina in 2010, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 have set AOMS into action. For each of these events the doctors and staff at AOMS have donated their personal time to open the practice during a Saturday and donating all staff wages and proceeds for each day to assist victims and their families. For AOMS’s September 11th relief efforts, proceeds and wages were donated to Rescue 5 Firefighters in New York. For the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, proceeds and wages went to the Northwest Medical Teams for distribution. For Hurricane Harvey, our office was joined by Dr. Greg Renyer and his daughter from Corvallis and and proceeds and wages went to Direct Relief.

Hurricane Harvey Relief, 2017

The following is an article from the Grants Pass Daily Courier about our 9/11 relief efforts:

Dental offices raise $40,000 for NY victims

November 11, 2001 Grants Pass Daily Courier By TIMOTHY BULLARD Reprint Courtesy of Daily Courier You could call it pulling teeth for a good cause. But that’s exactly what the employees and surgeons at Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery did recently when, by donating their professional fees and wages for a day at work, they raised more than $40,000 for victims of the Sept. 11 attack in New York City. “It was one of the young gals who started the idea, which generated a whole spirit,” said employee Gail Pickle. “All the rest of us agreed that it was a good idea. Dr. Rajiv Rajagopal, center, sports an American flag head scarf as he is helped by surgical assistants Debbie Ferrare, left, and Tracie Pugh while working on a patient recently. So they set Oct. 27 as the special fund-raising day at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery offices in Grants Pass, Medford and Ashland. In all, some 60 employees, including surgeons James Savage, Rajiv Rajagopal, Bruce Logan and Joel Slaughter, donated their time to the cause. The funds will be “directed to disaster relief for spouses, and dependents of the dead, disabled or missing firefighters from Rescue 5 Engine 160 and other firefighters stationed or residing in Staten Island, New York,” according to information provided by the clinic. “We worked for free and had a wonderful day,” Pickle said. Rajagopal’s wife, Sharon, pitched in as well, making her “famous chimichangas for everyone for lunch,” Pickle added. The three dental clinics aren’t normally open on Saturdays, Pickle said. But patients were told of the special event and given the option to take part. In all, some 56 patients were seen at the three clinics. “The patients all seemed happy about it, or at least as happy as you can be when you’re getting your teeth extracted,” Pickle said.

The following is an article from the Medford Mail Tribune about a school supply drive supported by AOMS:

Donations give school kids an edge

August 25, 2005 By JONEL ALECCIA Reprint Courtesy of the Mail Tribune Despite the chaos of construction, St. Vincent de Paul organizers are determined to host an annual school supply drive that prepares hundreds of low-income kids for class. “This year, we’re going to be kind of crunched,” said Bill Schueller, the former agency director heading the 14th annual drive. In previous years, more than 1,500 children and their families have crowded the St. Anthony homeless shelter in late August, loading up on pre-packed backpacks, pencils and notebook paper. But the shelter was recently torn down, part of a $2.7 million renovation project that eventually will build a new shelter and other amenities. So this year, more than 30 volunteers will pack bags as families arrive for the drive, planned for Monday to Sept. 2. Families can bring proof of income from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the agency site, 2424 N. Pacific Highway, Medford. “During last year’s drive, we served 845 children on Monday alone,” Schueller said. Kids come away with paper and pens, calculators and crayons, most provided at a 30 percent discount from Bi-Mart Corp., based in Eugene. Schueller believes having the right supplies can make a difference in a child’s success in school. Nationwide, parents expect to spend nearly $2.5 billion on school supplies such as notebooks, folders, pencils, backpacks and lunchboxes, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey. In the West, that amounts to an average of $84.02 per family. For those struggling to make ends meet, especially families with many children, paying for school supplies is all but impossible. The St. Vincent de Paul drive was started in 1991 by Dolores Harmon and her daughter, Lori Harmon. Since then, other community efforts have begun to help prepare children for school. A school supply drive sponsored by the Mail Tribune and several other professional groups is expected to provide more than $3,000 worth of goods to every local district, said organizer Ginnie Deason. Donations of pencils, scissors, backpacks, highlighters, tissue, notebooks, 2-inch binders, markers, glue and glue sticks can be dropped off at several area sites. Deadline is Sept. 12. Already, contributions are pouring in, Deason said. “It’s much better than last year, but at the same time, it’s just a drop in the bucket when you consider the need,” she said. Other sponsors include the Ashland Daily Tidings, the Nickel, Umpqua Bank, members of the Jackson County Bar Association, Ramsey & Rote, People’s Bank of Commerce, Associates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and the Ashland law firm of Davis, Hearn, Saladoff & Smith. Donations can be delivered to the following sites:

St. Vincent de Paul, 2424 N. Pacific Highway, Medford. Call 772-3828.

The Mail Tribune, 111 N. Fir St., Medford. Call 776-4441.

The Daily Tidings, 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland.

The Nickel, 832 Crater Lake Ave., Medford

Any Umpqua Bank location.

Collections will be distributed to local schools for disbursement to kids in need. Contact your child’s school for more information. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail jaleccia@mailtribune.com with subject “Donations give school kids an edge”.